Obama takes on power plant emissions as part of climate plan

June 25, 2013|Reuters

By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama willattempt to kick-start a global climate agenda on Tuesday withproposals including a plan to limit carbon emissions fromexisting U.S. power plants that is sure to face opposition fromthe coal industry, many business groups and Republicanlawmakers.

Obama, whose first-term attempt to reduce greenhouse gasemissions through a "cap and trade" system was thwarted byCongress, promised in his second inaugural address to tackle theissue again.

Environmentalists and Obama's political base have beenanxious for action, but the first months of his second term havebeen dominated by immigration reform, a failed attempt to passstrict gun control measures, and a series of political scandals.

Republicans, in turn, have been emboldened by Obama'sstumbles. Many also question climate science and opposeregulatory actions they say could hurt the economy.

The Democratic president aims to address those concerns andmake good on his inaugural promise with a speech, scheduled for1:55 p.m. (1755 GMT), that lays out a new plan to reduceemissions, boost renewable fuels, and lead the world in tacklingglobal warming.

The key proposal involves the thousands of power plants,many of them coal-fired, which account for roughly one-third ofU.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama will direct the Environmental Protection Agency todraft a plan setting carbon emission limits on existing powerplants by June 2014, finalizing those rules a year later,according to senior administration officials who briefedreporters before the speech.

"We already set limits for arsenic, mercury and lead, but welet power plants release as much carbon pollution as they want,"one official said.

The proposals are likely to draw criticism from segments ofthe energy industry and some Republican lawmakers that they willcost jobs and hurt the U.S. economic recovery. In addition, theycould be tied up in court for years.

The administration officials did not give details of whatthe limits for existing plants would entail. Separately, the EPAwould finalize overdue plans for carbon limits on new powerplants by September, they said.

Environmental groups that had early word of theadministration's plans cheered.

"Tackling carbon pollution from power plants is the greatestopportunity and should be at the core of any serious approachto reduce U.S. emissions. For the first time, a U.S. presidentis taking such action," Andrew Steer, president of the WorldResources Institute, said in a statement.

"This announcement will have ripple effects that willincrease the urgency of action around the globe."

KEYSTONE OVERHANG, INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

None of the president's proposals, including plans to reduceemissions from heavy duty trucks after 2018, requirecongressional approval. That alone is likely to spark howls fromObama's opponents on Capitol Hill.

"(Obama) made it very clear that his preference would be forCongress to act and move comprehensive energy and climatelegislation forward," the official told reporters. "At thispoint ... the president is prepared to act."

Some environmentalists fear that Obama will use new climatemeasures to head off criticism if his administration approvesthe proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil fromCanada to refineries in Texas.

A senior administration official said the decision onKeystone has not been made.

Green groups want Obama to reject the pipeline. Republicansand many businesses say it will help the economy, and someunions support the project because of the jobs likely to becreated during the pipeline's construction.

Obama will stand by that pledge on Tuesday, and officialssaid Washington wants to take the lead in international effortsto seek a new agreement to reduce emissions after 2020.

"We will be seeking an agreement that is ambitious,inclusive and flexible," the White House said in a writtenversion of Obama's climate plan.

As part of its global efforts, the White House would proposeWorld Trade Organization talks on free trade in environmentalgoods and services, officials said. The United States would alsoplan to end its support of public financing for new coal powerplants overseas unless they used carbon capture technology. Verypoor countries would still get support.

Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed this month tocooperate in fighting climate change by cutting the use ofhydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.

The White House plan includes measures to tackle HFCs aswell as emissions from methane, another potent greenhouse gas.